Lunch! What'd ya have? (May 2016–Oct 2016)

Anna N · May 28, 2016

Host's Note: This is part of an extended topic that became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it into shorter segments; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Lunch! What'd ya have? (2015 - 2016)

I was test driving an ingredient -- Israeli couscous. I have tried hard to like the other kind of couscous and it always tastes "old" to me. That is the best way I can describe it. But I had heard that people who disliked couscous enjoyed the Israeli variety. This was cooked in chicken stock after being lightly toasted and then tossed with Parmesan, peas and grape tomatoes. It is certainly much more pleasing to my palate but the downside of course is it has a much longer cooking time. Most of life is a series of compromises.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Smithy
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rotuts · May 28, 2016

Nice AnnaN

I do understand your ' old ' assessment of couscous.

Ive in the past rinsed off the C and let it dry again

that seemed to me to be better. but these days, well why bother ?

have you tried the Israeli C in the IP ? for a time consideration ?

for me Ive just moved top Bulgur which I can get locally in all the various sizes. and it does not need cooking, just soaking.

but Im pleased you have tried Israeli C.

Anna N · May 28, 2016

6 minutes ago, rotuts said:

Nice AnnaN

I do understand your ' old ' assessment of couscous.

Ive in the past rinsed off the C and let it dry again

that seemed to me to be better. but these days, well why bother ?

have you tried the Israeli C in the IP ? for a time consideration ?

for me Ive just moved top Bulgur which I can get locally in all the various sizes. and it does not need cooking, just soaking.

but Im pleased you have tried Israeli C.

No I have not tried it in the IP. To be honest it had not occurred to me. I think the appeal of couscous at least the kind we get here is that it does not need to be cooked at all but can be simply reconstituted. The 8 to 10 minutes it takes to cook Israeli couscous is not a dealbreaker but it is not nearly as convenient. I too am venturing out into the grains and will be test driving a few of those.

suzilightning · May 28, 2016

Getting ready to send of John's friend for his family vacation and John to Poughkeepsie.....it's going to be me and Mr. Mike's dog and the kitties. Turkey sandwiches for the ride to the airport then north...chicken quesadillas made with roasted chicken, salsa and guacamole....no cheese. Plenty of water for them and seltzer for me. Also have the first cold tea of the season in the fridge...I'm going to need it!

rotuts · May 28, 2016

Bulgar just needs to be soaked

at room temp

with water or a liquid with ' added flavor '

then 'digressed' i.e. non absorbed liquid removed

once you get the hang of that, you can add a bit less liquid and get the bulgur 'just right'

the thicker bulgar just needs more time.

sartoric · May 29, 2016

A Vietnamese style salad, glass noodles, cos lettuce, red onion, wombok, bean sprouts, mint leaves, coriander leaves with sliced beef from yesterday's Bun Bo Hue. Dressed with Nuoc Cham, the fish sauce, lime juice, dark sugar, chilli and water all purpose sauce. Sprinkled with fried shallots.

liuzhou · May 29, 2016

6 hours ago, sartoric said:

A Vietnamese style salad, glass noodles, cos lettuce, red onion, wombok, bean sprouts, mint leaves, coriander leaves with sliced beef from yesterday's Bun Bo Hue. Dressed with Nuoc Cham, the fish sauce, lime juice, dark sugar, chilli and water all purpose sauce. Sprinkled with fried shallots.

Beautiful.

shain · May 29, 2016

14 hours ago, Anna N said:

I was test driving an ingredient -- Israeli couscous. I have tried hard to like the other kind of couscous and it always tastes "old" to me. That is the best way I can describe it. But I had heard that people who disliked couscous enjoyed the Israeli variety. This was cooked in chicken stock after being lightly toasted and then tossed with Parmesan, peas and grape tomatoes. It is certainly much more pleasing to my palate but the downside of course is it has a much longer cooking time. Most of life is a series of compromises.

I don't mean to discourage any usage of ingredients nor do I want to sound fixed on traditiona., but I would like to write a couple of things that might give people some perspective.

First, I must say that Israeli couscous is misnamed, and that this causes them to be wrongly considered a substitute for each other. In Israel, Israeli couscous is called ptitim, it's essentially a form of pasta and originated as an alternative to rice in times the later was expensive.

It can be used like pasta in salads, or like rice, with saucy dishes. It is not considered to be related to real couscous.

It seems to me that outside Africa and the middle east couscous is mostly used in cold preparations and salads. While those do exists traditionally, they are less common, as couscous is usually served warm. I personally much prefer hot couscous. Hot or cold couscous must be served in a moist preparation to taste right.

Here is one recipe which is quite traditional and similar to what is also common in Israel. It can be made without meat, and I personally don't add raisins to it. Sweet potato is also a welcomed addition.

cakewalk · May 29, 2016

1 hour ago, shain said:

First, I must say that Israeli couscous is misnamed, and that this causes them to be wrongly considered a substitute for each other. In Israel, Israeli couscous is called ptitim, it's essentially a form of pasta and originated as an alternative to rice in times the later was expensive.

I once got into a sort of argument about this. I mentioned to someone that Israeli couscous was not really couscous, and they refused to believe it. Insisted that I didn't know what I was talking about. I've never mentioned it again. (But since you did ...)

Anna N · May 29, 2016

4 hours ago, shain said:

I don't mean to discourage any usage of ingredients nor do I want to sound fixed on traditiona., but I would like to write a couple of things that might give people some perspective.

First, I must say that Israeli couscous is misnamed, and that this causes them to be wrongly considered a substitute for each other. In Israel, Israeli couscous is called ptitim, it's essentially a form of pasta and originated as an alternative to rice in times the later was expensive.

It can be used like pasta in salads, or like rice, with saucy dishes. It is not considered to be related to real couscous.

It seems to me that outside Africa and the middle east couscous is mostly used in cold preparations and salads. While those do exists traditionally, they are less common, as couscous is usually served warm. I personally much prefer hot couscous. Hot or cold couscous must be served in a moist preparation to taste right.

Here is one recipe which is quite traditional and similar to what is also common in Israel. It can be made without meat, and I personally don't add raisins to it. Sweet potato is also a welcomed addition.

Thanks

kayb · May 29, 2016

Sonic onion rings.

Of which a medium order (6 BIG rings) has 560 calories, I found after I'd consumed them. Gonna be a light dinner for me. Steaks will wait until tomorrow.

rotuts · May 29, 2016

Wow

@kayb

no Sonics near me

maybe good for me or not

have you had a '' burger '' there ?

Ime deeply please, there are no

http://www.in-n-out.com/

near me.

I grew up in CA these evolved later

but I was able visit my parers 4 x / year.

Yum ! extra 'sauce' on my burgers, Animal double-doubles and 2 - 4 X sauce for the fries

Excellent nap from time to time required.

Anna N · May 29, 2016

Not sure yet whether this will be a late lunch or an early dinner (I know I saved room for dessert). Wheatberry salad. This wasn't bad but halfway through I decided it was lacking a certain something something.

I handful of these crushed lightly and sprinkled over the top it to a whole new level.

BonVivant · May 29, 2016

From this weekend:

Store-bought ready-to-bake pretzels. And sausage salad (not store-bought). The pretzels are fine, but I still want to make my own someday.

Fish without the chips. Bought the battered cod from the market fish monger. (note that where I am you only get the fish or the chips, not both.)

HungryChris · May 30, 2016

16 hours ago, rotuts said:

Ime deeply please, there are no

http://www.in-n-out.com/

near me.

I grew up in CA these evolved later

but I was able visit my parers 4 x / year.

Yum ! extra 'sauce' on my burgers, Animal double-doubles and 2 - 4 X sauce for the fries

Excellent nap from time to time required.

Each time we go to San Diego or Las Vegas, In-N-Out is one of the first stops. I can't really explain it in specific terms nor reproduce it at home, but they make a great burger!

HC

kayb · May 30, 2016

17 hours ago, rotuts said:

Wow

@kayb

no Sonics near me

maybe good for me or not

have you had a '' burger '' there ?

Ime deeply please, there are no

http://www.in-n-out.com/

near me.

I grew up in CA these evolved later

but I was able visit my parers 4 x / year.

Yum ! extra 'sauce' on my burgers, Animal double-doubles and 2 - 4 X sauce for the fries

Excellent nap from time to time required.

I've had burgers and hot dogs there, but I'm not crazy about them. Love the onion rings, and they have a great array of fountain drinks and shakes. And a kids meal with a grilled cheese sandwich that my grandson dearly loves, thus the after-church stop.

I had an In 'n Out burger when i was in Phoenix, as I thought I ought to. I wasn't that impressed. The sauce is good, though.

liamsaunt · May 30, 2016

I spent the Memorial Day weekend out in Wellfleet on Cape Cod. The weather was gorgeous (except for today, it is pouring today!). I did not do much cooking, but we ate out a lot. The Beachcomber is probably the most famous restaurant out here. It is not at all fancy, always extremely crowded, and the crowd can be a little rough (aka drunk!). We go for lunch because the scene at night is not always teen appropriate. They do a nice job with their fryer.

Fishwich

Fried clams

Steamer clams

Oyster po boy

And from the raw bar, sesame seared tuna

Anna N · May 30, 2016

Baked potato scooped out and mashed with butter, crème fraîche and salt and pepper. Flesh replaced then topped with sausage meat, cheddar and some chopped scallions. Briefly flashed under the broiler to melt the cheese.

ChocoMom · May 30, 2016

This was more like a "Linner" Meal. Lunch + Dinner = Linner (according to my brother).

Hubby and my 18 yo son went fishing on the Pilgrim river. They caught em. I cleaned em. And, then nom nom nom.

ChocoMom · May 30, 2016

I failed to say what they were....the giant rainbow trout was my son's catch. Figures....its the tallest one- just like he is! All the rest are Brookies and Rainbows. Quite delish with ground garlic, pepper and a little squirt of lemon.

**Shelby** · May 30, 2016

8 minutes ago, ChocoMom said:

I failed to say what they were....the giant rainbow trout was my son's catch. Figures....its the tallest one- just like he is! All the rest are Brookies and Rainbows. Quite delish with ground garlic, pepper and a little squirt of lemon.

Oh yeah, can't beat fresh trout.

Anna N · May 31, 2016

So I am certain I am not the first person to do this but I can honestly say I have never seen it before and it just seemed to be the logical answer to my dilemma. I wanted a salad for lunch but when I reached for the last of the grape tomatoes I saw that they were way past their best. I was about to bin them when the thought came into my head… If you can make a hot bacon dressing why can't you make a hot tomato dressing? So I warmed some olive oil, added some garlic, hot pepper flakes and dried oregano and let them become acquainted. I fished out the garlic once It began to show some colour and added the wrinkly grape tomatoes. When they began to break down I splashed in some white wine vinegar. Meanwhile I had cut up a small heart of romaine and crumbled some blue cheese. Voila. Salad for lunch.

kayb · May 31, 2016

Leftovers, some left over on purpose for just such applications.

A salad made of leftover roasted corn, cut off the cob, avocado, tomato and bacon; leftover deviled eggs from the weekend, and very nearly the last of the jail slaw I've been munching on for a month (told y'all it keeps forever in the fridge).

A most excellent lunch. I was going to have watermelon (that I got for the weekend and we never cut open), but I was too full.

HungryChris · May 31, 2016

Providence red clam chowder from a local fire house Memorial Day benefit.

HC

HungryChris · May 31, 2016

I think Deb should be happy with her lunch tomorrow.

HC

Edited June 1, 2016 by HungryChris (log)

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